


The Gift

by Erekio



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Digital Art, Fluff, Gen, Illustrations, Oneshot, Snatcher is a tsundere, a bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:34:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22243435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erekio/pseuds/Erekio
Summary: "The ghost teleported himself in the unusual contractor’s bedroom. He expected the day to pass the same as always : he would wait for the child to come back to her spaceship, offer her some new advanced contracts and watch her die over and over again. Classic BFF day ! But what he didn’t expect was the thing below him once he appeared in the room, on his regular spot."Snatcher comes to Hat Kid's bedroom and finds a gift addressed to him. Fluff and a bit of angst ensue.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 144





	The Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone ! 
> 
> This is not my first fanfiction, but this is the first time I write something in English. I used to write in French but I decided to change that. If you ever find any grammar mistake, please tell me, so I can correct it as fast as I can. It also helps me to improve ! Any criticism is welcome !
> 
> The two drawings you'll see are mine.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy everything as much as I did when I wrote and drew them. If you do, please tell me or leave kudos, that way I'll know if it's a good idea for me to continue writing in English.  
> Happy reading !

The Snatcher had decided to leave his forest for a while, to complete the daily part of his deal with the hat wearing child. How did he let himself get trapped that easily ? He didn’t know. Somehow, the kid had taken advantage of a small mistake on his part and there he was : a ghost being forced to play a small girl’s _BFF_.

He _loathed_ it. Being trapped in one of his _own_ contract ? That was humiliating, to say the least. However, he didn’t have a choice and could do nothing but what he was forced to by the kid’s terms.

The ghost teleported himself in the unusual contractor’s bedroom. He expected the day to pass the same as always : he would wait for the child to come back to her spaceship, offer her some new advanced contracts and watch her die over and over again. _Classic BFF day !_ But what he didn’t expect was the thing below him once he appeared in the room, on his regular spot.

Confused, the shade looked under him : there was an object he had never seen before. It looked like a sort of big bean. It was black, and when he touched it, he felt fabric on his ghostly hand. The thing was soft and it seemed rather comfy. Though, none of this could explain what that thing was doing here, on _his_ part of the room. He was used to sit here ! Well, as much as he could sit with no legs, but still ! That was his spot and it was _taken_. Why did the child put it here ? Was it a provocation ? Was she trying to mess with _him_ , the ghost that had taken so many souls before ? Surely she wasn’t that stupid... Or maybe she was just reckless. After all, she did make him her BFF...

Just as he was about to throw the bean away, a noise interrupted him. He recognized the opening sound of the bedroom door and when he looked behind him, he saw the kid coming in. His eyes met hers and for a moment they both remained silent. The Snatcher suddenly realized he was still holding the bean in his arms and he quickly put it down, not wishing to seem ridiculous, especially in front of _her_. His reaction seemed to amuse the little girl, as she started to giggle with her annoying childish voice. The shade decided to ignore it, preferring to ask her about what he found instead :

-“Hey look, it’s the insufferable kid !” He said, an irritation definitely noticeable in his tone : “Good thing that you came, because now you can tell me what the hell that thing is, and especially what it’s doing here !”

-It’s a gift !” She replied cheerfully : “Do you like it ?” She then asked with stars in her eyes, looking at him with big expectations.

His anger quickly faded into bewilderment as he slowly processed what she just told him. A _gift_ ? Cleary, he had misunderstood her words because there was absolutely _no way_ this kid was foolish enough to give _him_ a gift, of all people she must have met on this planet.

-“ _Excuse me ?_

\- Yeah !” She took several steps in his direction, still smiling in her usual dumb way : “People in Mafia Town told me there was this tradition here, where you give people things at this time of the year. So I bought you something !”

The ghost blinked in disbelief. Did she just buy _him_ something for _Christmas_? His eyes remained locked on hers for a few seconds. As they passed, the child’s face started to crumple little by little :

-“You don’t like it ?” Her voice was quiet and the shade could see that she was definitely upset.

A feeling of malice grew inside of him at the sight of the distressed child. Truly, this was something he would never get tired of ! His smile widened as he spoke again :

-“Well, I don’t even know what _that_ is. Do you really consider yourself as my BFF ? I don’t think you are, considering how bad you are at giving people gifts ! Did you pick it at random ? Because that’s what it feels like. I’m honestly disappointed here, kiddo.”

His contractor frowned at his remarks and glared at him. Oh, _now_ she was angry ! The Snatcher couldn’t help but hope that she would regret her deal with him and break it once and for all. He knew she probably wouldn’t, as she was rather stubborn on the _BFF_ subject, though he could still try. The contract did prevent him from killing her directly, as it was not something _best friends_ usually did together, but it didn’t forbid him from being mean. He was thankful for all the loopholes this deal had for his own benefit.

-“I didn’t pick it at random !” She retorted : “I know you’re saying this to make me feel bad.

\- Oh really ? Then tell me. What is it ? What am I supposed to do with a bean thing like this ? Sit on it ?”

His sarcasm didn’t fall on deaf ears, as the child’s face showed how offended she was. Oh, how he loved arguing with her. He almost let another mockery leave his mouth before the girl cut him short :

-“Well... Yeah ? That’s what it’s for ? It’s a pouffe !” She countered, pointing her finger towards said bean thing.

A _pouffe_ ? Confusion replaced his want for teasing, as he slowly turned his head back to the gift. He couldn’t see how he could sit on such a strange shaped object. There wasn’t any real backrest ! It was just big and round !

The little girl noticed his puzzlement and all trace of annoyance disappeared from her face. She let another giggle escape her mouth and the Snatcher’s eyes quickly came back on her : he hated being laughed at. He scowled at her, though it did little in his favour, as she continued to chuckle. As he was about to snap at her, the kid shook her head in the same way a disappointed parent would do in front of their misbehaving child.

The ghost didn’t like that comparison _at all_.

-“Look it’s... Let me show you !” Before the shade was able to retort anything, the child left her spot to move towards him, much more determined than before. After a few strides, she came right next to him, shooing him away with her small hands.

-“ _Did you just_ ‘shoo’ _me_ ?” He said, offended, only to be ignored by the kid, who took the bean thing in her arms. The ghost didn’t move an inch : he didn’t want to let a little girl give him orders, especially in that manner. However, she seemed quite resolved in what she wanted to do, making a face when she noticed he had no intention of floating away. That didn’t stop her and soon, she started to push him while keeping the pouffe in her hands.

-“Are you serious ?” His tone was nothing more than exasperated at that moment. He stayed motionless, weary of the child’s tries to make him move. The more she tried, the more irritated he became and after a while, he simply pushed her over the edge into the pillow pool. A shriek escaped the little girl’s lips as she fell, just after dropping the gift at the shade’s metaphorical feet.

The Snatcher drifted higher in the room, a very satisfied look on his face. On the pillows was the kid’s body, laying on her back. For an instant, she seemed groggy, not realizing right away what had happened. A few seconds passed where she recollected herself before meeting the Snatcher’s stare. She then let out a frustrated groan, repeatedly punching the pillows next to her with both of her fists :

-“Why are you so difficult !

-Oh I don’t know... Maybe because _someone_ forced me into a contract I didn’t agree with !” came the ghost’s answer, full of sarcasm. His mischievous smile widened at the pleasant sight in front of him. Seeing his contractor’s annoyance really was something he loved. Now he just needed to convince her that this arrangement was no longer a good idea on her part... She never gave up on his advanced works anyway and probably never will, so he didn’t expect to receive her soul anymore.

At this point, he just wanted to be completely out of this deal.

-“You know,” he started speaking again, this time with a falsely gentle voice : “If you decided to breach our contract, I wouldn’t _have_ to be here. Things could go back to how they were : I would take care of _my_ forest and you could do whatever you want to, without me being here to argue with you.

-But I _want_ you to be here with me !” She grunted, eyes shut hard : “We’re BFF ! Remember ?

-No, we’re _not_ !” He yelled, infuriated, his words resonating in the bedroom. He could feel his body deform itself with the strong emotion rising inside of him. A banal victim would have been terrified of him, but this girl simply glared at him, as if the ghost was nothing to be scared of.

He didn’t understand why this kid not only wasn’t afraid of him but wanted to be _his_ friend, of all people. He was a monster, who took countless of souls before and who would continue to do so, without feeling any guilt ! He didn’t even like children ! But here he was, trapped in an arrangement where he had to take care of one.

This was pure irony.

Silence fell between them, while both looked away from each other. A certain awkwardness rose in the room, aggravated by the heavy atmosphere. The shade wanted only one thing and it was to get out of here. Nonetheless, leaving was something linked to his contract. One day, the kid had told him that BFFs had to be together regularly and he had become forced to follow this implicit rule after that. He never told her, of course : he didn’t want her to realize the power she held over him ! But since he didn’t know what best friends did together himself... What she explained to him turned into rules he had to obey in order to respect his part of the deal.

He hated that.

-“Look, kiddo.” He took a breath he didn’t need and calmed himself, ready to talk again : “We’ve never been friends. I tried to kill you, several times. I still do now ! So why do you want me to stay ? What do you want from me ?”

The shade looked at the hat wearing child once more. Her eyes were still shut and now he could see two shining trails on her cheeks, while her lower lip was trembling.

“ _Oh. Oh no._ ” He immediately thought. This was not happening. This _couldn’t_ be happening.

Very mixed feelings developed inside of him. He should be thrilled to see her tears ! When she cried while working on his death wish contracts, he was overjoyed ! Why was this time so different ? Why didn’t he feel _good_ ? He always found it funny and laughable to see someone sobbing ! Anyone’s misfortune made his happiness. This girl was nothing more than a burden to him ! He had tried everything to kill her, to make her leave his forest, in vain ! And now that he managed to make her cry by just talking to her, he was feeling _bad_ ?

What was happening to him...? Fear started to grow in his mind, as he was slowly becoming aware of a fact that was so scary to him.

He remained motionless and silent for a few seconds, not knowing what to say or what to do. He had never wanted to comfort anyone before and still didn’t want to now. However, he felt the weird and unwanted _need_ to do something, anything, to end that situation as fast as possible.

-“Kid, I...” He began before hesitating for a instant : “I’m not someone you want as a friend. And in my case, I don’t need _any_. We’ve had a fun time together, with me attempting to kill you and you trying to survive, sure ! But now ? It’s time for this to stop. I don’t know why you’d want to befriend someone who tried to murder you ! Like, seriously, do you _enjoy_ dying so much ?” He let out a forced laugh at the last part, knowing full well that the child only continued his advanced contracts because she was so stubborn.

He waited for an answer, though the kid’s mouth remained closed and her eyes looking elsewhere. She had stopped crying and her lower lip was no longer shaking, but her expression was more than enough to see how upset she still was.

The shade sighed, suddenly tired. He casted a glance around him, unable to decide what to do. Should he stay here and wait ? Or should he leave ? However, the very idea of leaving the kid behind in that state made him quite uneasy and, worst of all, made him feel _guilty_.

God, he _hated_ feelings.

He floated back to the ground, ready to sit on the pillows he had stolen in the beginning of his stay in the spaceship. Next to him was the bean given by the child, yet he really didn’t want to think about it at that moment. The less he thought about emotions, the better. He materialized in his hand one of his favourite books from his home, _Faust_ , and opened it. The wish to read, though, wasn’t there. His eyes simply looked at the words without getting their meaning.

Why was everything so hard with this child ?

He was about to turn the third page of his book when said child spoke again, with a hushed voice :

-“Do I need a reason to be friend with you ?”

The ghost didn’t reply at first. Why was this kid so persistent when there was nothing to befriend from the start ? He was a monster ! Then again, when he thought about it, she _did_ make friends with a lot of people who had tried to murder her at least once... Maybe she liked being a target in the end ? In that case, she really _was_ as reckless as he thought... Another sour laugh slipped from his mouth, getting the attention of the little girl who, for the first time since his outburst, looked at him directly.

-“I’m not going to stop trying to kill you in our contracts, you know that ?

-Yeah, I know.” She answered with a little smile on her face : “They’re fun sometimes.

- _Only_ sometimes ? Kiddo, they’re _hilarious_ to me !”

She giggled at his words and, for a very brief second, the ghost felt a grin appear on his features. Although, as soon as he realized what was happening, he quickly hid it behind his book, doing everything he could to make this new smile disappear. Since when did he find this kid’s laughter _cute_ ? This wasn’t like him !

He knew he had been too late to hide it when he heard another snort of amusement coming from the hat wearing child. And as much as he wanted to ignore it, he couldn’t completely deny the feeling of _contentment_ he felt from the sound alone.

Emotions truly were complicated things, and he really wished he could avoid feeling them, especially when they were so different to what he believed himself.

The Snatcher came back to reality when he heard the kid’s voice once more, playful this time :

-“By the way... You know BFFs have to accept each other’s gifts, right ?”

The ghost let out an enraged groan and closed the book with strength, as he had to understand that, yes, the child had probably guessed how their contract worked.

He couldn’t wait for the end of their arrangement, this deal which had made his life so much more difficult... But, at the same time, there was something else, something new.

Something he couldn’t help but be scared of, while making him a little happier at the same time. And as he reluctantly took place on his new seat, the same question came back to him : what was happening to him ? He didn’t know.

The child smiled from ear to ear when she saw him sitting on the pouffe she gave him. Much to the shade’s displeasure, he couldn’t help but feel _satisfied_.

But he supposed that maybe, for a while, he could let things go and see where it would take him.


End file.
